FOOD, PHYSIC, AND EXERCISE 13 



his back will be more likely to stand work than one 

 that has spent his time in the stable ; the latter 

 may look all right at first, but a few days' hunting 

 will find out his weak spots. 



Keeping horses in the stable and giving them 

 regular walking exercise is the only alternative to 

 turning out to grass. I prefer turning out : it is 

 more natural and certainly cheaper. The shoes 

 should be taken off, the feet pared and rasped 

 every three weeks. A big roomy pasture with 

 some shade and a feed of crushed beans twice a 

 day will keep the muscle on. It is all the better 

 if there is not too much grass, as the horse then 

 is kept walking about all day to get his fill, 

 whereas when the grass is too luxurious he soon 

 eats as much as he requires, and will gallop about 

 or get into mischief. Don't run your horses too 

 thickly ; one to every ten acres is sufficient ; and let 

 cattle clear up the rest of the herbage. The time 

 when they require a full bite is in the spring when 

 first turned out, and the fresh young grass is then 

 the best natural physic. 



Your groom will probably tell you that a horse 

 at grass gallops about and knocks his legs to pieces. 

 You can reply that it is better to find out any 

 weakness in the summer than in the middle of the 

 hunting season, and that, if a horse cannot stand 

 galloping with no weight on his back, he is not 

 likely to carry you to hounds. 



The general custom with horses that have been 

 turned out is to give them a dose of physic when 



